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SOME OLD FRENCH PLACE NAMES 

LN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS* 
The southern part of the state of Arkansas 
was early explored and settled by French 
traders and trappers. The history of these 
first settlers is mostly lost already, for they 
were frontiersmen, who left but lew documents 
or other records by which their history can be 
traced. The French names given by them to 
streams and camping grounds have clung to 
some of the places, while in other instances 
these names have been so modified and Angli- 
cized as to be almost, if not quite, beyond 
recognition. 

It is worthy of note that the French names 
are confined chiefly to the southern and eastern 
parts of the state, and to the valley of the Ar- 
kansas. I have no doubt that this is owing to 
the fact that trappers and traders were the 
first white men to enter the state in considera- 
ble numbers, and that they traveled chiefly 
along the navigable streams. They did not 
enter the Ozark-Mountains region because 
there are no navigable streams entering the 
Arkansas river from that direction, while the 
Upper White river is swift, and, in places, dif- 
ficult of navigation. 

During the progress of the Geological Sur- 
vey of the state, I have had occasion to use 
these place names on my maps, and I have 
been puzzled to know how to spell some of 
them, and have thus been interested in learn- 
ing their origin. I have here brought together 
several of them, witli such e.xplanations of their 
origins as are suggested Iiy the words them- 
selves, or by some circumstance connected with 
the localities. In many instances I have been 
unable to find what seems to be a rational e.x- 
planation of the origin of the words. Con- 
cerning a certain number of them, I am able 
to give the opinion of Judge U. M. Rose, of 
Little Rock, and I have inserted his name in 
parentheses after the explanations for which 
he is responsible. Judge Rose remarks, how- 
ever, that he considers some of his suggestions 
" exceedingly risky." Indeed but few of the 
explanations offered in the present paper are 
to be accepted without question. It is to be 

* Deprinted from Mod. Lang. Notes, vol. xiv, Feb., 1899. 



hoped that the Arkansas Historical Society 
will try to trace these words to their sources 
while yet there is some possibility of its being 
done : If, for example, Hforo is from 3foreau, 
why was it called Moureanf Such a history 
cannot be deciphered by an inspection of the 
word alone. 

Some of our most valuable records of these 
old names are to be found in Dunbar and 
Hunter's Obsei-vaiiofis, written in 1S05, during 
a trip up the Washita to Hot Springs.' Un- 
fortunately it contains many typographic errors. 

Nuttall, the botanist, who traveled in Ar- 
kansas Territory in 1819, makes mention of 
some of these place names, and as he was on 
the ground before the French origins of the 
words were entirely lost sight of, his spellings 
of them are of interest.^ 

I have looked up the spelling of most of 
these names on the lithographed copies of the 
original land-plats of the first official surveys 
of the state. The references given in the 
present paper under the head of "plats" are 
to the lithographs, not to the original sheets 
themselves. The field notes of the surveyors 
who did this work are preserved in the office 
of the Land Commissioner at Little Rock. It 
would be of interest to find how the names are 
spelled in those notes, fur while it is not to be 
supposed that the names were all [>rnnexl^L_ 
written down in them, changes are liable to 
have been made in putting those memoranda 
upon the original plats, and others may have 
been made when they were lithographed. It 
is a remarkable fact that some of the names 
now in use have originated, not by any process 
of philological evolution, butsimply in clerical 
errors in copying them. Bodcaw seems to be 
a good illustration of a name of this kind. 

No doubt some of the difficulty in tracing 

I Mi^ssage from the President of the United States com- 
mutttcating discoveries made in exploring the Jlfissouri^ Red 
River, and Washita, by Captains Leiuis and Clark, Doctor 
SibUyandMr, Dunbar, Washington, 1806. 

1 a. A yournal 0/ Travels into the Arkansas Territory 
during the Year jSjq. By Thomas Nuttall, Philadelphia, 
1821. 

b. Observations on the Geological Structure 0/ the Valley 
0/ the Mississippi . yournal 0/ the Acad. Nat, Sci., vol. 11, 
pp. 14-52. Philadelphia, 1820. 



n'l^ 



tliese names is due to the fact that travelers in 
new and unsettled countries often name places 
from trivial events, or for persons, rather than 
from some local feature or characteristic. 

Certain habits regarding the names have 
been pretty firmly fixed upon the state by these 
French settlers. For example, streams having 
several large branches, generally known in the 
northern part of the state as "forks" (as 
Bufl'alo Fork and North Fork of the White 
River), in the southern part of the state are 
often called "fourche," as Fourche il Loup, 
Fourche k Caddo. We even find the ".South 
Fork of Fourche La Fave." 

In some instances the original French names 
have been preserved intact, as in the case of 
the Vache Grasse, Petit Jean, Bayou de Roche, 
Fourche a Loup, 3 Terre Rouge, etc.; in 
others, one may occasionally see sometimes the 
French form, and sometimes the Anglicized 
word, as in the case of the Terre noiror Turn- 
wall. 

It is n(Jt to be supposed that in the substitu- 
tion of an English word, or of an English- 
sounding word, for a French one, the changes 
are necessarily, or even likely to be, of a kind 
that would take place among a people using a 
patois or some provincial form of French, but 
they are often nothing more nor less than a 
complete abandonment of tlie French word 
Tor an English word that it seems to resemble, 
or that strikes the fancy. 

Although this region was first explored by 
the Spaniards, they seem to have left but few 
Spanish names. In looking over a list of the 
place-names of a state as new as Arkansas, 
one must of course be on his guard against 
names of foreign origin but recently bestowed, 
such as /}oii Air, Belnwut, Barcelona, La 
Bflle, etc. 

The words given in the list are far from 
being the only ones of French origin in the 
state. 

In the following alphabetic list the name, as 
now used, is given first, then the word from 
which it is derived. Some words are put down 
without any suggestion as to their origin or 
meaning. They are possibly of French origin, 
but I am tmable to make any satisfactory 
suggestion as to their derivation. 

3 Dunbar and Hunter in their Observations (p. i66) call 
this stream " Fourche \ Luke." 



Antoine.— L. Page du Pratz mentions in his 
J/is/oire cie ia Loiiisiane, Vol. i, p. 303, a 
silver mine in the country of the " Cado- 
daquioux " or Caddos, located " by a Por- 
tuguese named Antoine." Stream in Pike 
and Clark counties, and town in Pike Co. 

Arkansas.— Father Marquette, who visited 
this region in 1673, spelled the word 
Akansea on his map, but in the text it is 
spelled Akainsca and AkeiiseaA In both 
instances it is the name of a village. 

Father Membr^, who was one of La 
Salle's party on his voyage down the Mis- 
sissipiM in 16S1, speaks of a tribe or nation 
of Indians called Aknr/sa.i It was spelled 
Akansa by Tonty in 16S2.6 

Father Anastasius Douay wlio was with 
La Salle at the time of his death in this 
region in 1687, mentions "the famous river 
of the Achansa, who here form several 
villages" (p. 219); elsewhere he calls the 
people and the stream Akansa (p]i. 220-1- 
2-3; 226). 

Joutel, the companion of La Salle, 
spelled it Accancea's in 16S7.7 He nays 
tliere was a nation of Indians of this name, 
and on the map accompanying his account 
the river is called "Riviere des Acanssas." 
Dr. Elliott Cones says :8 

"the name Akansa adopted in some form 
by the French, is what the Kw.ipas were 
called by the Illinois Indians, and the origin 
of our Arkans.is or Arkansaw. The form 
Ac.inza is lound on Vaugondy's map, 

Joulel, cited above, used the name a cen- 
tury earlier. Du Pratz says (p. 125) "The 

4 Discovery and Exploration of the liHssissippi Valley; 
with the original narratives of Marquette, Allouez, etc. liy 
John G. Shea. New York, 1852, pp. 46. 50, 254, and 257. 
'l"his work contains a 

" facsimile of the autograph map of the Mississippi or Con- 
ception River, drawn by Father Marquette at the time of his 
voyage. From the original preserved at St. Mary's College, 
Montreal." 

5 Op, cit.. pp. 168, 170, 172. 

6 Relation o/' Henri de Tonty Concerning the Explorations 
0/ La Salle/roin j6jS to ibSj, I'ranslated by M.B.Ander- 
son Chicago, The Caxton Club, 1898, pp. 73, 77, 95, 105, 106. 

7 A yournal o/the Last Voyage Per/ortneii by Monsr. de 
la Sale to the Gulph 0/ Mexico. By Monsieur joutel .... 
and translated from the edition just published at Paris, 
I^ondon, 1817. Reprinted by the Caxton Club, Chicago, 1896, 
pp. '55, '58, 159, 162. 

8 Pike's Expedition. New ed. by Elliott Coues, N. Y. 
1895. Vol. ii,p. 559, foot-note. 



1 



river of the Arkansas is so denomi- 
nated from the Indians of that name." (See 
also pp. 60 and 318-319.) 

" There are a few villages of the Quaw- 
pavvs, or Arkansaws and Chocktavvs, situ- 
ated on the south side of the Arkansa 
river below the high lands " (/^o?;^'.f Ex- 
pedition, vol. ii, p. 347). 

In 1811 Brackenridge spoke of these In- 
dians and spelled the word as it is now 
spelled (p. 83). Sibley9 spelled it Arkansa 
in 1805, and Niittall spelled it so in 1819. 

It is fre(]iiently assumed tliat the words 
Arlcansas and Kansas are genetically 
related. This is erroneous. The word 
Kansas is also of Indian origin, and it was 
also the name of a tribe, and in old publi- 
cations is variously spelled. On Mar- 
quette's map made in 1673, it is spelled 
Kavsa. Le Page Du Pratz, who lived in 
old Louisiana territory from 1718 to 1735, 
makes frequent mention of the Canzas In- 
dians and of Canzas river.'o On his map 
this name is Cansez. 

Pike makes frequent mention of both 
the river and the Indians, and calls them 
both Kans and Kansas. In one place he 
says : " The Kans are a small nation situ- 
ated on the river of that name."" 

In Long^s Expedition'^^ tlie Konzas 
nation and river are spoken of, and it is 
staled that these Indians lived upon the 
river of that name (Vol. ii, p. 348). In 
one place the author speaks of " the Kon- 
, zas or Konzays, as it is iironounced by the 
Indians." (Vol. ii, p. 354.) 

In a foot-note to the new edition of 

g Hiitoricai Shetcht's 0/ the Several htdian Tribes in 
Louisiatt I. By John Sibley. P.irt of UTesstt^e from tiie 
Presiiient . . . Discoveries ity Lewis and Clark, Doctor 
Sibley and Mr. Dunbar. Washington, 1S06. pp. 66-86. 

10 The History of Louisiana. Translated from the French 
of M. Le Page Dn Pratz, Newed., London, 1774. The first 
edition of this work was the Histoire de la Louisana, Paris, 
1758. 

11 An Account 0/ Expeditions to tlie Sources of the Jl/is- 
sissipfii and Through the Western Parts 0/ Louisana . . in 
the Year iS07. By Major Z. M . Pike. Philadelphia, 1810. 
Appendix to Part ii, p. 17. See also pp. 107, 108, 116, 123, 

'37, 'S^' ^4°, '19, '5^' *"'• 

12 An .Account 0/ an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the 
Rocky Mountains Performed in the Years iSlQ and' 20, by 
Order 0/ the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Sec*y of War ; under the 
command of Major Stephen H. Long. . . . Compiled by 
Edwin James. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1823. Vol. i, chaps. 
vi and vii; Vo! . ii. 245, 346, 348, 354. 



Lewis and Clark, VoL i, pp. 32-33, Dr. 
Coues says the early French forms of the 
word were Quans, Cans, Kances and 
Kansez. It is, therefore, evident that the 
words Kansas and Arkansas are not re- 
lated in origin, and that the -kansas part of 
the Arkansas was not pronounced like 
the name of the state of Kansas. 

The spelling by Marquette in 1673; by 
Menibr6 in 1681 (Akansa) ; by Douay in 
16S7 ; by Joutel in 1687 (Accancea's and 
Acanssas). and the subsequent spelling by 
Sibley, Dunbar and Hunter, Pike, and 
Nuttall, (Arkansa), show as plainly as can 
be expected that the pronimciation now in 
vogue in the state is the one originally 
used. 

Barkaque. — Featherstonhaugh,i3 who travel- 
led in tlie state in 1834-5, has much about 
M. Barraque, who then lived on the Arkan- 
sas River near Pine Bluff. Township in 
Jefferson county. 

Ba vou. — This word is in common use in Louis- 
iana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. It is thus 
defined by Du Pratz :i4 " Bayouc, a stream 
of dead water, with little or no observable 
current." The same has been e.xtended 
in many cases to swift mountain streams 
in spite of the protests of the people; for 
example, Polk Bayou at Batesville. The 
word is a corrupton of the French ^c/yitur-ar- 
gut, and by extension, a long narrow pas- 
sage. Sibley, and Dunbar and Hunter 
write it " bayau." 

Bartholomew. — Bartholom^ was the name 
of a Frenchman who lived near Pine Bluff 
in 1S19 (Nuttall). This name, however, 
was already in use in 1804, when Dunbar 
and Hunter ascended the Ouachita. (See 
tlieir Obsen'ations, p. 126.) Bayou in Lin- 
coln, Drew, and Ashley counties. 

Belle Point. — " The site of Fort Smith was 
selected by INIajor Long in the fall of 1817, 
and called Belle Point in allusion to its 
peculiar beauty. "'S Nuttall calls it by this 
name. 

Bodcaw. — The original land map (1S24) has it 

13 Excursion Through the Slave States. New York, 
1844, pp. 131, 133. 

14 The History of Louisiana. Translated from the French 
of M. Le Page Du Pratz. New ed., London, 1774, page 20. 

15 Long^s Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky 
Mount.xins, Vol. ii, p. 260. 



\ 



spelled Bodcau. This, and the fact that 
this stream is called Badeati in Louisiana, 
lead me to believe that Bodcau' comes 
from Bodcau, which is from Badeau by a 
clerical error; mistaking the a of ^ua'^«« 
for an o and the e for a c, thus turned 
Badeau into Bodcau, and later it was 
spelled as we now have it — Bodcaw. One 
difficulty with this theory is that the lake 
into which the Badeau flows in Louisiana 
is called the Bodcau. Another one is that 
as long ago as 1805 Dr. John Sibley said 
this stream was called Badkah by the In- 
dians. Dunbar and Hunter, p. 103. Stream 
and township in Lafayette county. 

BoDocK. — Bois d'arc (the Osage orange). 
This is the name of several small streams 
in the southwestern part of the state, but 
these stream-names are always, so far as I 
know, derived from the " bodock " or 
bois d'arc wood. 

BouFF. — Breuf (beef). Dunbar and Hunter 
call it " Bayau aux Bceufs " (p. 124), and 
the old land plat of 19 S. 3 VV. has it 
" Bayou Boeuff,'' 1839- Stream in Chicot 
county. 

Caddo. — Judge Rose tells me that he has seen 
an old French manuscript that refers to a 
tribe of Indians living in Northern Louis- 
iana and .Southern Arkansas called les 
Caddaux. The date of the manuscript is 
not mentioned. This word seems to be of 
Indian origin. Father Anastasius Douay, 
who accompanied La Salle in his attempt 
to ascend the Mississippi in 16S7, mentions 
the Cadodacchos,i6 a tribe of Indians in 
this part of the country. In Joutel's journal 
of La Salle's last voyage, mention is made'7 
of a village called Cadodaquio in what is 
now Te.xas or Louisiana. The map in 
Page du Pratz shows, north of the Red 
River, "the country of the Quadodaqui- 
ous." In the te.xt he calls the "Cadoda- 
ciuioux " (p. 318) " a great nation." Dun- 
bar and Hunter speak of these people as 
" Cadadoquis, or Cadau.\ as the French 
pronounce the word" (p. 136), while Sibley 

16 Discovery and Exploration of the a'^Hss, Valley tt\.Q. Ey 
J. G. Shea. Pp. 217,221. 

17 A Journal of tlie Latest Voyage Perform' d by Monsr. 
de la Sale. By Monsieur Joutel. London, 1714. Reprint 
Chicago. 1896, pages 140, 142. 



calls them Caddos and Caddoquies (Dun- 
bar and Hunter, p. 105). Pike's map of 
Louisiana has this word both " Cadaux " 
and "Caddo;" and he represents a trail 
"from Caddos to Arkansaw," showing that 
these Indians lived southwest of Red 
River. Brackenridge speaks>8 in one place 
of the " Cado nation," and in another of 
the "Caddoquis" Indians, who lived thirty- 
five miles west of Red River and "one 
hundred and twenty miles by land above 
Natchitoches." 

Cadron. — Pike calls it "Quatran;" Nuttall 
says the French hunters called it "Quad- 
rant." Mr. Rose thinks it may come from 
cadran, a sun dial. Stream, old village 
and township in Faulkner county. 

Champagnolle. — Possibly the name or nick- 
name of a person, derived from Cham- 
pagne. On the old land plates it is spelled 
" Champagnole " (1818-45). The name 
was in use in 1805 (Dunbar and Hunter, p. 
133). Stream and landing in Calhoun 
county. 

Canadian. — Canada (.Spanish). '9 Diminutive 
form of cation, a steep-sided gorge. A 
stream in Clark county. 

Chicot. — Chicot, a stump. Name of a county 
on the Mississippi River. 

Q,Ki,H. — Cache. Brackenridge {Op. cit., loi) 
calls this stream Eait.v cachi'{i). Stream 
and village in Greene county. 

CoRNiK, or CORNV. — (?) Streams in Union 
county. 

Cossatot. — Casse t^te. The stream runs 
through a very rough country, and the name 
may have been suggested by the topogra- 
phy along its course. The word cassetHr, 
however, was the French for "tomahawk," 
and the name may have been given the 
stream, just as a stream in Searcy county 
is now known as Tomahawk creek. River 
in Sevier county. 

D.\RDANELLE. — Nuttall says (p. 126) this place 
was conniionly called "Derdanai" by botli 
the French and Americans. I do not know 
whether the name was imported from Eu- 

iS Vieivs of Louisiana: Together "with a Journal of a 
Voyage up the Missouri River ill tStr. By H. M, Bracken- 
ridge. Pittsburgh, 1814, pp. 63 and 8q. 

19 The Expedition of Z. M. Pike. By Elliott Coues, New 
York, 1S95. Vol. ii, p. 558, foot-note. 



/ 



rope, or, as is said of the European name, 
was derived directly from dort d'uu ocille- 
A rocky point projects into the river at this 
place making the navigation a little dan- 
gerous. In Long's expedition it is usually 
given as Dardenai, but in one case it is 
called "Dardenai Eye" (Vol. ii, 28S). 
Name of a town on the Arkansas River. 

Darvsaw, Darisaw, and Dairvsaw. — Des 
riiisseaux (streamlets). Mr. Rose tells me 
that one of the early settlers at Pine Bluff 
was named Des Ruisseau.x. Township 
and village in Grant county. 

Decipkr.— (?) The land plat of 9 S 19 W. 
(1S19) has it " Decepier; " that of 8 S. 19 
W. has it "Deciper." Streams in Clark 
county. 

De Gray. — De gris (sandstone). The stream 
of this name is noted for the soft, easily 
cut, sandstone along its course. This rock 
was formerly much used for chimneys and 
foundations. The original land plat, sur- 
veyed in 1819, calls it " Bayou Degraff," 
however, and it may be that it comes from 
a personal name, and that the sandstone 
has nothing to do with the case. Stream 
in Clark county. 

Des Arc. — Des nrcs. See explanation of "O- 
zark." Stream and town in Prairie county. 

De Iaiter. — This is Saluter on tlie original 
land plat (1838-1844) ; possibly from Sa/u- 
tnire. In Long's Expedition (\\, 2,01) sovne 
of the tributaries of the Washita are spoken 
of as the "Saluder, Derbane," etc. Sa- 
luda is a rather common name in South 
Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. 
Or was it originally Bayou de loiitre; that 
is, otter creek ? Bayou in Union county. 

Devoe and Deview. — IJe vcaii. On the old 
land plat this name is spelled both "De- 
view" and "Devue." Stream in Craig- 
head, Ponisett, and Woodruff counties. 

DoRCHEAT. — In Long's Expedition to the 
Rocky 3foimtains (ii, 307) mention is made 
of "Bayou Dache " which enters Lake 
Bistineau in Louisiana. In Dunbar and 
Hunter's Observations (ii, 102), Doctor 
Sibley mentions Bayau Paicet. There is 
nothing said that suggests the origin of 
the word. 
Dunbar and Hunter mention (p. 133) the 



" Bayau de Hachis " at a certain place on 
the west side of the Washita. At the 
point referred to there is no considerable 
stream, and I cannot learn that any of the 
creeks of the vicinity have, or ever had, 
such a name. Pike's map of the Washita 
gives a Bayou Hachis and also " C6te de 
Hachis " in this same region. I infer that 
Pike took the names from Dunbar and 
Hunter, and that the latter by mistake 
put down a stream on the Washita that 
was reported to them to lie to the west of 
where they locate it. Another suggestion 
comes from the mention by Father An- 
astasius Douay (in 1697) of a tribe of In- 
dians in this part of the world under the 
n2.me o( Hag uis.^° Stream and township 
in Columbia county. 

Dota or Doty. — D'eau titde (Rose). Doty is 
so common a name that it might well have 
come from the name of a Doty family. 
Stream in Independence county. 

EcoRE Fabre. — £core (or accore) a shore- 
bank or bluff and Fabre a proper name. 
On the land plat of 12 S. 18 W. it is put 
down "Fabre," " Ecoze a Fabra " and 
"Ecoze Fabra" (1838). These last are only 
niispellings by the draftsmen. Stream and 
township in Ouachita county. The Ecore 
Fabre is now a stream entering the Oua- 
chita just above the high bluffs at Camden. 
The name Ecore Fabre was originally ap- 
plied to the bluffs on which the city of 
Camden is built. Dunbar and Hunter (p. 
i34)speakof "the Ecor Frabri (j/c)(Fabri's 
cliffs) .... and a little distance above, a " 
smaller cliff called Le Petit Ecor a Fabri. 

Eleven Points.— /^^•j'(?/>o«/(? Rose). River 
in Randolph county. 

Fort Smith. — See Bei/e Point. 

FouRCHE A Loup. — I supposed this name was 
correct as it stands, but Dunbar and 
Hunter call it " Fourche h Luke " (p. i66). 

Franceway.— Francois, a proper name. Creek 
in Grant county. 

Freed.— /^r/o, cold. (Spanish.) On the land 
plat (1845) this is .spelled " Frio." Creek 
in Dallas and Ouachita counties. 

Galla or Galley KocK.—Galets (pebbles). 

20 Discovery and Exploration, tic. IJy J. G. Shea, New 
York, 1852, p, 217, 



Landing on the Arkansas River in Pope 
county. 

Glazypool or Glazvpeau. — Glaise d Paul, 
Paul's clay pit. (Dunbar and Hunter, p. 
i66.) On the land plat of 2S. 20 W. it is 
called "Glady pole " (1838) ; while on i S. 
20. W. it is " Glazy pole." Mountain and 
stream near Hot Springs. 

Gl.\ise (Grand). — Glaise, pottery clay. Pike 
has a "Great Glaise" on his map of 
Louisiana about where Arkadelphia now 
stands. Dunbar and Hunter have the 
following upon tlie origin of Glaise: 

" The salt lick marsh does not derive its 
name from any brackisliness in the water 
of the lake or marsh, but from its contiguity 
to some of the licks, sometimes called 
saline, and sometimes 'glaise,' generally 
found in a clay compact enough for a 
potters' ware." (Observations, p. 130.) 

Name of an old landing and town on the 
White River in Jackson county. 
Gulpha. — Calfat, calker, a proper name. On 
land plat 3 S. 19 \V. this is " Gulfer " ; on 
3 S. 18. VV. it is "Sulphur" (1837-S). Creeks 
near Hot Springs. Dunbar and Hunter 
call it " Fourclie of Calfat " (pp. 143, 157, 

159)- 

La Fave. — La Feve (Beau). A family of this 
name formerly lived near the moutli of 
the stream. (Nuttall, 103.) Dunbar and 
Hunter (p. 159) mention "a Mr. Le Fevre 
.... residing at the Arkansas." On land 
plat 4 N. iS-20 W. it is " La Feve " ; on 4 
N. 17 W. it is " La Feve " (1839-42), and 
in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Moun- 
tains (ii. 345) it is called " Le Fevre." 
Stream in Perry county. 

L'Agles. — L'aigle, an eagle. On the old 
land plat it is called " Eagle or L'aigle 
Creek." Streams in Bradley county. 

Lagrui:.— Aa^rHC, a crane. On Pike's map 
this is called Crane river. Streams in 
Arkansas county. 

L'Anguille.— Z'rt«^7^///c, an eel. Stream 
and township in .St. Francis county. 

Lapile. — La pile,-A\\\\& or pier. Probably a 
personal name. It is spelled " La Peil " 
on the original plat of the land survey. 
Stream and town in Union county. 

Low Fkeight. — L'eau froide. On the land 
plat 16 .S. 17 \V. this name is spelled 



"Low Freight" (1856 ). Dunbar and Hun- 
ter call it " Bayau de l'eau Froide" (p. 
137) Stream in Clark county. 

LuFRA. — This name of a post-office in Oua- 
chita is, in all probability, another form 
derived from "Low Freight" and Veau 
fraiche or I'eait froide. [Camp de I'or- 
fraic, fish-hawk, Rose). 

Maddrv. — Possibly ULadre, of Spanish origin. 
Post-office in Hot Spring county. 

Magazine. — Magasiu, a barn or warehouse. 
The name was probably given the moun- 
tain on account of its peculiar house-like 
form, and the town took its name from the 
mountain. Mountain and town in Logan 
county. 

Marie Saline Landing. — Marais satin, salt 
marsh. Dunbar and Hunter mention the 
"marais de saline" near this place and 
state that: " the salt lick marsh does not 
derive its name from any brackisliness in 
the water of the lake or marsh, but from 
its contiguity to some of the licks, some- 
times called saline " (p. 130). Landing in 
Ashley county. 

Mason. — Maison, a proper name. 

" On this part of the river lies a consider- 
able tract of land granted by the Spanish 
government to the marquis of Maison 
Rouge, a French emigrant, who bequeathed 
it with all his property to M. Houligny." 
(/Tunbar and Hunter's Observations, p. 
126.) 

Bayou in Chicot county. 
Massard.^ — This word is variously spelled on 
the old land plats: on 7 N. 31 W. (1829), 
and on 8 N. 32 W. it is " Massara " and 
"Massaras," evidently due to a mistake of 
the draftsman of the final (/for an a. On 
7 N. 32 \V. (1827), it is "Massards pniirie;" 
on 8 N. 31 W. (1827), it is "Massard Creek" 
and " Massards prairie;" Nuttall speaks 
(p. 121) of the Mazcrn mountains; and 
this, it seems, was the name formerly ap- 
plied to what is now called the Massard. 
The name appears to have originated as 
suggested below for the Mazarn. 

I quote from Long's Expedition (ii, 264). 
On leaving Fort .Smith to go to Hot Springs 
the writer says : — 
"Our route lay on the south side of the 



'^ 



/ 



Arkansas, at considerable distance from 
the river, and led ns across two small 
creeks, one called Massern, or Mount 
C.erne and the other Vache Grasse." 

In a foot-note to this statement it is said : 

"The word Masserne applied by Darby as 
a name to the hills of the Arkansa terri- 
tory, near the lioniulary of Louisiana, by 
Nuttall to the mountains at tlie sources of 
the Kieniesha and the Poteau,is supposed 
to be a corruption of Mont Ceiiie, the name 
of a small hill near Belle Point, long used 
as a look-out post by the French hunters." 

Stream and prairie in Sebastian county. 

Maumelle. — Manic/le, breast. It is sjielled 
IMavielle in Long' s Expedition, ii, 345. A 
conical hill in Pulaski county which has 
given name to streams also. 

Maz.\rn. — Mt. Cerne, Round mountain. A 
mountain in the region southwest of Hot 
.Springs is called Mt. Cerne on the map 
accompanying Pike's report. ^i This refer- 
ence is to the streams and mountains 
southwest of Hot Springs. 

Meto or MzTER. — Bayou nii-terre (Rose). This 
stream is about half-way between the 
White and the Arkansas, and nearly par- 
allel with both. On the land plat of 2 N. 
10 W. it is called "Bayou Netto" (1818-19). 
A stream in Lonoke and Arkansas counties. 

MoRo. — /l/ureau, feed-bag. Probably a proper 
name. On the original land plats it is 
spelled "Muro," " Moroe," and on one 
sheet " Moreau " (1832). .Stream and vil- 
lage in Bradley county. 

Osage. — Father Membrii of La Salle's party 
in 16S0-81 makes mention of the Osnge 
river, while Father Douay speaks of the 
river of the Osages and of tribes of the 
same name." 

"The name of this nation, agreeably to 
their own jironunciation is Jl'azv-sacli-c, but 
our border inhabitants speak of them un- 
der the names of Hii--~mus;\nA O-satc-ses, 
as well as Osaoes. The word U'awsashe 
of tlnee syllables has been corrupted by 
the French traders into Osage 23 

Stream in north Arkansas. 

21 An Account of an Expeclition ta the Sources of the 
Mississippi, etc. By Major Z. M. Pike. Philadelphia, 1810, 

22 Discovery and Exploration 0/ the Mississippi Valley, 
with the Origintil Narratiz'es of .Marquette, ..illouez, .Ment- 
bre, Hennepin and Anastase Douay. By J. G. Shea, New 
York, 1852. Pp. 166-7; 222. 

23 Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains. 
By Stephen H. Long. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1B23, Vol. ii, p. 
244. 



Ouachita or Washita.— Indian origin. 

" Between the Red River and the Arkan- 
sas there is at present no nation. Formerly 
the Onachites lived upon the Black River 
and gave their name to it ; but at this time 
there are no remains of that nation. "»4 

On the maps accompanying Du Pratz's 
history the Ouachita is called Black River 
in the English translation, and Riviere 
Noire in the original French. Du Pratz 
tells why the stream was called Black River 
and adds (English, p. 169; French, ii, 
304-5): "It is sometimes called the river 
of the Wachitas, because its banks were 
occupied by a nation of that name who are 
now extinct." Pike spells it Wascheta 
(appendix to part iii, p. 56). 

OzAN. — Au.T ones. Prairie d'Ane or " De 
Ann " is near Ozan. The old land plats 
call the creek Ozan. Town and stream in 
Hempstead county. 

Ozark. — Featherstonhaugh who traveled in 
the state in 1834-5, says this word is a cor- 
ruption of " Aux arcs," the French ab- 
breviation of " Aux Arkansas. "25 School- 
craft thinks it "to be compounded from 
Osage and Arkansas. "'6 

P ALAV.M. —Ptare des alarviis (Rose). Pike 
mentions (p. 128, appendix 41) Babtiste 
Larme, and the place name may have 
come from a personal name. Town .^rj 
stream in Faulkner county. 

Point Remove. — Remous, an eddy. In Long's 
Expedition (ii, 274) mention is made of 
" I^oint Remove or Eddy Point creek, 
which enters the Arkansa about thirty 
miles above the Cadron." Nuttall spells 
it " Remu," which suggests that the word 
was so pronounced in his time. It is 
spelled Point Remove on the original land 
plats. Stream in Conway county. 

Poteau. — Poteau, a post, possibly some old 
land-mark, as Professor Coues suggests. 
Pike and Nuttall call it " Pottoe." " The 
Poteau, so called by the French, from the 
word signifying a post or station. "27 Moun- 
tain and stream in Scott county. 

Quapaw. — Kappas and Cappas. (Indian.) In 

24 The History 0/ Louisiana. Translated from the French 
of M. Le Page Du Pratz. A new edition. London, 1774, p. 
318. See also Dunbar and Hunter, p. 121, 

25 Excursions Titrough the Slave States, p. 89. 

26 Scenes atid Adventures in the Ozark Mountains. By 
H.R.Schoolcraft. Philadelphia, 1853, p. 246. 

27 Long s Expedition, Vol. ii, p. 260. 



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i6S7 M. Joutebs of Salle's party spoke of 
" Cappa," an Indian village. The name 
of a land line near Little Rock. 
Saline. — This name, of such common occur- 
rence in South Arkansas, is best explained 
by Dunbar and Hunter in speaking of 
the Saline River that enters the Ouachita 
between Ashley and Bradley counties. 

"It has obtained its name from the 
many buffaloe salt licks which have been 
discovered in its vicinity. Although most 
of these licks, by digging, furnish water 
which holds marine salt in solution there 
exists no reason for believing that many of 
them would produce nitre" (p. 131). 

See also D/arie Sa/iiie. 

Salisaw — Nuttal! (p. 16S) has " Salaiseau " ; 
in Long's Expedition (ii. 225) reference is 
made to " Bayou Sa/aison, or meat salt- 
ing Bayou," which is probably the correct 
derivation. It might have come, however, 
from Safes eaux, dirty water, or from 
Sa/issant, that soon gets dirty. Stream in 
Indian Territory near the Arkansas line. 

Smackover. — Cheutin eoiivert, covered road. 
The original land map surveyed between 
1838 and 1845 'it's this spelled ".Smack 
overt : " this suggests that the original 
might have been Cheimn overt,open road. 
Dunl)ar and Hunter, however, speak of it 
as follows: "A creek called Cheniin 
Convert, which forms a deep ravine in the 
highlands, here enters the river." (p. 133.) 
Stream in Union county. 
38 Op. cit.y pp. 142, 1^9. 155, 159, 160. 



LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS 

H 



014 647 863 3 



Spadra. — (?) Village and stream in Johnson 
county. 

Tchemanahaut.— C/;^w;'// a haul, or Chemin 
h ean. The old land plat of 19 S. 7W. 
spells It " Chimanahaw " (1842). Stream 
in Ashley county. 

Teager Creek. — Probably from a proper 
name. Dunbar and Hunter (p. 142^ say: 
" 'Fourche au Tigree' (Tyger's Creek.)" 
.Stream in Hot Springs county. 

TuRNWALL. — Terre twir, black land. This 
stream runs through the " Black lands." 
Featherstonhaugh speaks of it^g as Tour- 
nois, and philologists suggest that Turn- 
wall would not be derived from Terre iioir. 
Terre Rouge is the name of a stream in 
the same region, and this stream flows 
through the tertiary red lands. The Terre 
Noir flows through the chalky cretaceous 
black lands, and I think there can be no 
doubt about the explanation here given. 
Some of the maps of the state put it down 
"Terre noir." The old land plat of 9 .S. 
19 VV. (1819) has it " Terre noire ; " others 
have it "Terre noir." Creek in Clark Co 

Washita, see Ouachita. 

Waver Light. — IVavel/ite. The mineral of 
this name is found in Garland countv. 
Formerly post-oflice in Garland county 
west of Hot Springs. 

John C. Branner. 

Sinn font University. 

29 Geological Report of an Exniitination made in iS^. 
Washington, 1S35, p. 73. 



